1. Rabbie had 12 children by four different women during his short life. His wife, Jean Armour give birth to nine of his children, but only three survived infancy. His oldest child, daughter Elizabeth was born after Burns had an affair with his mother’s servant. His youngest child, son Maxwell, was born on the day of his funeral.

2. Robert Burns’ works have inspired the titles of two famous novels. JD Salinger’s ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is based on the poem ‘Comin Thro the Rye’ while John Steinbeck took the title of his book ‘Of Mice and Men’ from Burns’ poem ‘To a Mouse’ – ‘The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley’.

3. Robert Burns was the first ever person to feature on a commemorative bottle of Coca Cola. The poet’s image appeared on around one million bottles in 2009 to support the Scottish Executive’s Homecoming initiative, celebrating the 250th anniversary of Burns’ birth.

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4. Singer Michael Jackson was a huge fan of Robert Burns and recorded an album with David Gest setting the bard’s poems to music. Last year it was reported that Gest had offered the album of showtunes to the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Ayrshire.

5. Burns’ poems are truly out of this world. A miniature book of the poet’s work was carried into orbit by British-born astronaut Nicholas Patrick on a two-week space mission in 2010. Burns’ poetry completed a 5.7million mile trip and 217 orbits of Earth.

6. US fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger is a direct descendant of Robert Burns. Records show the grandmother of Hilfiger’s elderly aunt Rose Kirbis was the granddaughter of Burns’ brother Gilbert, making the multimillionaire the great, great, great nephew of Rabbie.

7. There are more than 50 memorials dedicated to Robert Burns around the world. Excluding religious figures, only Queen Victoria and Christopher Columbus have more dedicated statues. The oldest existing statue of Robert Burns is in Camperdown, Australia, and dates back to 1826.

8. Burns’ poem ‘Auld Lang Syne’, which is traditionally sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, is recognised by Guinness Book of World Records as one of the three most popular songs in the English language. The other two are ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘For he’s a jolly good fellow’.

9. Burns’ skull was bigger than the average man’s. After he died and was buried in St. Michael's Churchyard in Dumfries in 1796, Rabbie’s body was exhumed in 1815 to be placed in a new mausoleum in the town. While the body was above ground, a plaster cast was taken of his skull for study and measured. Forensic experts also recreated a 3D depiction of his face for a STV documentary.

Replicated: A 3D model of how Burns may have looked

10. Robert Burns is believed to be the inspiration for many famous figures and celebrities throughout history. US president Abraham Lincoln had a lifelong admiration for the poet’s work and some claim the poems helped him to win the American civil war and abolish slavery. American singer Bob Dylan also claims Rabbie’s song ‘A Red, Red Rose’ was his greatest source of creative inspiration. Burns’ work has appeared in hundreds of films and television programmes, including ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, ‘When Harry met Sally’ and ‘Sex and the City’.